Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

March 4, 2022

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station is located near the city of Enerhodar, Southeastern Ukraine, on the Kakhovka Reservoir’s southern shore on the River Dnieper. It is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and is among the world’s top 10 largest.

Overview:

This nuclear power plant consists of 6 VVER-1000 pressurized light-water nuclear reactors (PWR) and all of them are fuelled with U235 (LEU) and generate 950 MWe, which gives a total of 5700 MWe power output.
Between 1985 and 1989, the first five were brought online, and the sixth was added in 1995.
Nearly half of the country’s electricity is derived from nuclear power from this plant.
Zaporizhzhia thermal power station is located nearby.
After a modernization work was completed on unit 3, in 2017, it enabled a 10-year life extension till 2027
Unit 5’s modernization was finished in 2021, allowing for a 10-year life extension.

Effect of Russian Invasion of Ukraine on this Nuclear Power Plant

During the ongoing Russian-Ukraine crisis, Units 1 to 4 remained active, but Units 5 and 6 were shut down. Russia claimed to have captured Enerhodar as well as the nuclear power plant but Dmitri Orlov, the mayor of Enerhodar denied this.

Russian soldiers attempted to take control of the power plant recently, with Orlov announcing that parts of the building were burning due to artillery strikes from the Russian forces. A fire broke out near one of the six units, reportedly in a training building outside the security perimeter.

Although the reactor is undergoing renovations and is not operational, it still holds nuclear fuel. According to initial assessments, radiation levels remained normal as the fire did not cause any significant damage, and workers prevented further damage. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, warned that if the plant were to explode, the fallout could be ten times larger than what happened at Chernobyl.

Following an intense battle, and confirming there were no changes to radiation levels, Russian troops were able to occupy the plant.

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